tsunami
/(t)suːˈnɑːmi/noun
tsunami is spelled T-S-U-N-A-M-I: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tsunami means “A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tsunami is tsunamis.
How many letters and syllables are in tsunami?
| Letters | 7: T-S-U-N-A-M-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words; the 14,509th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tsunami?
Tsunami appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tsunami?
- US /(t)suːˈnɑːmi/
- Canada /(t)suˈnæmi/
- Canada /(t)suˈnɑmi/
Tsunami has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tsunami.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tsunami?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tsunami from its last stressed vowel (/ɑmi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tsunami
- tsunamis plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tsunami mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption; often a series of waves (a wave train).
A tsunami struck Japan recently.
- 2
A large and generally unstoppable surge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tsunami in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense large, destructive wave generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocea:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tsunami, raz-de-marée |
| German | Tsunami |
| Portuguese | tsunami, maremoto |
| Spanish | tsunami, maremoto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tsunami come from?
Borrowed from Japanese 津波 (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbour”) + 波 (nami, “wave”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).